SRP and government officials recently celebrated the centennial anniversary of a partnership between the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and SRP.
Among the guests at the Washington, D.C., reception hosted by SRP were Sen. Jeff Flake and Reps. Trent Franks, Raúl Grijalva, David Schweikert, Paul Gosar, Martha McSally, Ruben Gallego, Andy Biggs and Tom O’Halleran.
The 1917 agreement between SRP and the Bureau of Reclamation transferring project operations to SRP marks a significant achievement of the unprecedented public-private partnership between a group of Arizona farmers and landowners and the federal government — a partnership that continues to benefit our state and our nation 100 years later.
RECLAMATION AND SRP BRING WATER AND POWER TO ARIZONA SETTLERS
From this partnership, the Bureau of Reclamation constructed Roosevelt Dam, which allowed SRP to begin storing and delivering a dependable water supply to the Valley making it possible for the region to become the fifth-largest metropolitan area in the country.
Alan Mikkelsen, Deputy Commissioner for the Bureau of Reclamation, spoke on behalf of Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke at the reception.
“Arizona settlers needed water and they needed power. Reclamation and the Salt River Project provided both of those, and a whole new way of life was made possible,” Mikkelsen said. “This century has benefited not only the Project and Reclamation, but it has really provided a benefit to the American people for what Arizona brings to the national culture.”
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Plan your next adventure by checking out our other great locations in our Celebrate AZ Water series.
Learn more about Roosevelt Lake in our Celebrate AZ Water series: Roosevelt Lake was created in 1911 after the completion of Theodore Roosevelt Dam on the Salt River as part of the Salt River Project. The dam enabled early settlers to grow citrus, cotton, and even farm animals. The dam continues to provide a means of flood protection, generation of electricity, and a long-term water storage supply for metro-Phoenicians today. Read more
Read about Bartlett Lake, another joint project between the U.S Bureau of Reclamation and SRP: Bartlett Dam was built to create the reservoir (lake) amidst the outcry from farmers during the Great Depression. Constructed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, funding was provided by Salt River Project with a small amount of funding from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Read More
Salt River Project (SRP) is one of 19 Water – Use It Wisely partners to offer water-saving advice and programs. It is also one of the largest raw-water suppliers in Arizona, delivering about 800,000 acre-feet of water annually to a 375-square-mile service area and managing a 13,000-square-mile watershed that includes an extensive system of reservoirs, wells, canals and irrigation laterals.